What Can I Expect Out of a Traveler Orientation?
By Aaron J. Moore, MSN, RN-BC, travel nurse expert
Travel nursing can be one of the best experiences of your life, but it’s not without its anxiety-provoking moments. One of the most common causes of nervousness is the unknown. For instance, not knowing what to expect at a nursing orientation can bring out the jitters in the most confident of new travelers.
I must begin by stating honestly that all traveler orientations are not created equal, but it helps to find out some information ahead of time and be prepared.
In fact, a lot of anxiety can be relieved by just asking about the specifics of orientation during your initial interview. The manager can provide some details that your recruiter might not know, since many hospitals change their traveler orientation year to year. And orientations definitely vary from hospital to hospital. Your recruiter may be able to offer some additional insights, however, including feedback from other travel nurses who have worked at that hospital.
But here are some things that you can generally expect from a travel nurse orientation:
In the beginning you can expect a day of non-clinical orientation. This day usually consists of paperwork, obtaining a badge, and several special speakers on all things from hand hygiene to basic policy and procedure. Most hospitals now have electronic documentation so you might expect a crash course in how to chart. Some places may extend this first level orientation to two days, but I wouldn’t expect it.
Be prepared for a few basic things on your first day by bringing your paperwork with you (ACLS, BLS, etc.). Also, every travel job I ever had required a math test of sorts including basic drip rates and medication calculations. So it might not hurt to brush up on your calculation skills.
Next, you will likely be paired with someone to orient you. Now this is where most traveler orientations differ. I have seen orientations up to two weeks and some as short as four hours. I even had one job that said, “Here are your patients, and (insert name here) can answer any questions you have.” The last example is rare, but again you must assume going in that the person who hired you expects you to be competent and able to perform at that level starting day one.
Use the time with your preceptor wisely and ask plenty of questions. Focus on important questions about where to find hospital policy and procedures and how to run monitors/vents, etc. Get the flow of the unit down and find out the tricks of charting. Remember you are a competent, hardworking nurse, but there is no shame in admitting you don’t know your new job as well as the full-timers.
So in closing, I’m going to go all nurse theory on you and quote Patricia Benner’s “Novice to Expert Theory. “ When changing jobs, she said that even the best nurse (Expert) must expect to go down a level to Proficient. This doesn’t mean you aren’t an expert in patient care, it just means that you have to relearn patient care the way your current job does it.
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